Wither the Revolution? Wireless Networks for Cost Effective Broadband

Global Symposium for Regulators Geneva, Switzerland 9 December 2004

Michael L. Best michael.best@ inta.gatech.edu Key to Connectivity

1. Low-cost technologies - especially terrestrial wireless 2. Supportive public policy 3. Micro and small enterprises

…. supporting the democratization of both use and provision…. How They Stack Up

802.11b 802.16 corDECT Pt-to-pt max 20 Km 50 Km Pt-to-multipoint 1 Km 13 Km 25 Km Bandwidth 11 Mbps shared 70 Mbps shared 70 Kbps exclus. Unlicensed? Yes Yes No Advantages Popular, cheap Good range, Cheap, proven speed in rural areas Disadvantages Short range, Still emerging Requires inefficient use of license spectrum The Difference a Year Can Make

802.11g 802.16 corDECT Pt-to-pt max 20 Km 50 Km Pt-to-multipoint 1 Km 30 Km 35 Km Bandwidth 54 Mbps (plus) 70 Mbps shared 100/200 Kbps Unlicensed? Yes Yes No Advantages Super popular, Good range, Cheap, proven cheap speed in rural areas Disadvantages Short range, First generation Requires inefficient use of shipping license spectrum The SARI Village Information Centers

! Working in District, , South

! Provide Internet via WLAN, PC, and application suite to villages - many that are off the phone grid

! 80 connections in over 50 villages

! Each village information center is locally owned and operated (franchise model) Connected Villages

" Padinetankudi " Navinipatti " Karungalakudi " Kelaiyur " " Kallampatti " " Arittapatti " Urranganpatti " Narasingampatti " Thaniamangalam " Therkutheru " Alagarkovil " Kottakudi " Neaythanpatti " T. " T.Ulagpitchanpatti " Thiruvadhavur " Sengarampatti " Arasappanpatti " " Vellaripatti " Attapatti " Andipattipudur " Kottampatti " Thumbaipatti " Chittampatti " - Kalanjiyam Tr Centre " Pudhutamaraipatti " Palayasukkampatti " Pulimalaipatti " Kuthappanpatti " Mankulam " Kidaripatti " Karpuooravahini " Kattayampatti " A.Vellalapatti " Pullipatti Immediate Impacts: Tele-agriculture Immediate Impacts: Sometimes Just for Fun! E-gov Types of Services

60.0% 49.0% 50.0%

40.0%

30.0% 19.5% % of Total 20.0% 10.1% 9.2% 10.0% 7.0% 5.1%

0.0% Birth Old Age Community Inc ome Death General Certif icates Penion Certificates Certificates Certificates Grievances Type of Application E-Government Services: Internet vs Non-Internet Villages

30.0 28.3

19.6 20.0 15.5

9.1 10.0 6.5 4.6 4.3 2.4 2.0 1.1 0.51.2

No. of Appl. per 1000 Population 1000 per of Appl. No. 0.0 Inc ome Community Death Old Age Birth General Certificates Cert. Certificates Pens ion Certif ic ates Grievances Service

Non-Kiosk Villages w ith Popl. >=5,033 (8) Kiosk Villages (12) Consumer Welfare Results

Government Service Cost and time Cost and time Savings in estimate without estimate with Cost and time e-government e-government with e-government

Birth Certificates Rs. 60 to 250, 3-7 days Rs. 35, 2-3 days Rs. 25 to 215, 1-4 days

Death Certificates Rs. 60 to 250, 3-7 days Rs. 35, 2-3 days Rs. 25 to 215, 1-4 days

Old Age Pensions Rs. 25, one day in Rs. 10, No visit Rs. 15, one day visiting the Taluk required office Political Liberties Model: The Punch Line

E-government services lead to an increase of 4.950 and 2.925 times the average number of applications received for birth certificates . and old age pensions respectively, when compared to that when the village has no Internet kiosk, keeping other factors constant…. Wither the Revolution? Wireless Networks for Cost Effective Broadband

Global Symposium for Regulators Geneva, Switzerland 9 December 2004

Michael L. Best michael.best@ inta.gatech.edu